SLFUW celebrates Sinhala & Tamil New Year

The Sri Lanka Federation of University Women celebrated Sinhala & Tamil New Year in customary style at its own premises on Kitulwatta Road in Colombo.

Army war veteran’s son allegedly abducted and killed by Navy death squad

Hailing from a Kandyan Sinhala Buddhist backdrop and with a number of policemen and women in the family, Mervin Premalal Weerasinghe joined Sri Lanka army’s 3rd Sinha Regiment in 1978 with the same pride that others in his family too, felt in volunteering to protect the nation.

Risky Uses of AI Chatbots: Are Sri Lankans Aware?

Largely going unspoken about in Sri Lanka today, is a concerning trend that cyber security experts, researchers, and parents alike, are bringing our attention to.

Walk for Peace and Aloka: Long road to establish wellbeing of Sri Lanka’s stray animal populations

Many Sri Lankans were able to catch a glimpse of the Walk for Peace led by Ven. Pannakkara which concluded in Colombo.

Did the Finance Ministry fall prey to North Korean hackers?

The recent exploit of US$ 2.5 million from Sri Lanka’s external resources department, tricked into funding a US$ 2.5 million sovereign debt payment to a malicious third-party account, is embarrassing enough.

The Indispensable Island: Sri Lanka’s blueprint for sovereign survival

Sri Lanka occupies a position on the global map that is disproportionate to its physical size. Often described as a ‘teardrop’ off the coast of India, a more strategic assessment reveals it to be the ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ of the Indian Ocean. While the nation has recently weathered the storms of economic bankruptcy and political upheaval, its fundamental geographic, ecological, and strategic foundations remain not only intact, but unparal

SL requires 17 agencies for solar clearance, India has none- Expert

Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Ashish Khanna, who was in Sri Lanka recently, spoke to the Daily Mirror on the future of solar energy utilisation in the country and the plans put in place for it. Excerpts of the interview:

When dealing with bullies use logic, not anger

Bullying is a term usually reserved for schools. Many of us have experienced some kind of bullying at school, but it doesn’t stop there, extending to our institutions of higher learning. The dreaded ragging phenomenon so prevalent in our universities is a kind of extreme bullying.

Japanese aircraft carriers and their spectacular success

Much has been written about the two Japanese air raids on Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) on Easter Sunday April 05, 1942. But these accounts are usually sourced from the Allied side, mainly focusing on the vital role played by Squadron Leader Leonard Birchall, who sighted the Japanese fleet and reported to Colombo before his Catalina flying boat was shot down. But little has been written about the Japanese side – about the carrier strike force, its pilo

ISFTA at Twenty-Five

Twenty-five years after the landmark India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) was signed, a startling divergence has emerged: while bilateral trade has surged to nearly US$ 6 billion, the agreement’s utilisation has plummeted. In 2021, only 18% of trade flowed through the ISFTA framework, with the majority of exporters opting for non-preferential routes to avoid “administrative nightmares.

Alleged USD 2.5 million payment and concerns regarding the Treasury

I refer to the erroneous payment of USD 2.5 by the Treasury which translates to nearly Rs. 800 million, a staggering loss by any standard. Such an error cannot be dismissed as routine oversight; it reflects negligence of the highest order. In any properly governed payment process, several basic controls are non-negotiable. Before settling a liability, officers are expected to verify the agreement, confirm the identity of the creditor, check the d

If only every street dog in the world was treated like Aloka…

Sri Lanka is once again in the global spotlight with the ‘Ehipassiko’ Global Walk for Peace currently parading the streets across the country. Led by Ven. Pannakara Thera, the Walk commenced in October 2025 when monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Centre in Texas walked 2,300+ miles to Washington DC. The main objective of this Walk is to promote unity, compassion and mindfulness amidst social division.

Body temperatures could rise to 45 °C -50 °C due to present heat wave- Department of Meteorology

Sri Lanka is identified as one of the hottest countries in the world due to its location close to the equator. As a small tropical island, temperatures in Sri Lanka generally rise to around 30°C during the months from March to May and from August to October. According to meteorological data, the highest temperature was recorded in Trincomalee in September 2012, reaching approximately 39°C. In this year, the excessive heat affecting the Sri Lankan

Sending vital aid to Palestinians: Sri Lankan Activist Mehboobdeen joins mission unthinkable to Gaza

In an endeavour to break the illegal siege of Gaza and deliver much-needed aid to the people of Palestine, Sameera Mehboobdeen is set to represent Sri Lanka in the Global Sumud Flotilla Spring Mission for Gaza 2026. The Free Palestine Movement of Sri Lanka organised a press conference at the Embassy of Palestine on April 20 (Monday) to raise awareness about the mission, highlight its humanitarian objectives, and express solidarity with the people

Walk for Peace by Ven. Pannakara: Buddha’s teachings promoted by a global peace walker!

All the “Living Beings” prove that they are living by being in ‘action’ and it proves that the ‘actions’ are prompted by initiation, which in turn prove that they need kinds of prodding that may be very mild at the lowest while such can be very forceful.

Jonklaas’s Loach: ‘An overlooked fish’ that reveals the health of the water people depend on

In some Sri Lankan streams, what disappears first is not the water, but our understanding of what still lives there.

Human-Elephant Conflict: Fixes that Backfire

Sri Lanka is spending hundreds of millions of rupees on elephant management strategies that scientists, affected communities, but Sri Lanka’s own National Action Plan (NAP), as all acknowledge, is making the problem worse.

India’s space odyssey: ISRO unveils ambitious roadmap toward 2040 Lunar mission

As India looks beyond Earth’s orbit and deeper into space, its human spaceflight ambitions enter a decisive phase, with a series of missions set to shape the country’s next chapter in space exploration.

Embassy of Italy in Colombo Seven Decades of Diplomatic Excellence and Shared Prosperity A Milestone Celebration of Enduring Partnership

The opening of the Embassy of Italy in Colombo marks a pivotal chapter in the annals of Sri Lankan-Italian relations—a testament to the resilience, vision, and mutual commitment that has defined two nations separated by geography yet united by shared values.

Technology vs. Geography The new doctrine of national survival

The military conflict that erupted on February 28, 2026, between the United States-Israel alliance and Iran has fundamentally challenged the traditional dogmas of modern warfare.

Even New Year firecrackers might not warm dampened vendor spirits

It is that time of the year when people don’t think twice about shopping, spending for themselves and their loved ones in order to usher in the New Year on a memorable note. But this time around, people actually seem to be thinking twice before spending on clothes, sweetmeats and other items as shopping has become expensive. The Daily Mirror visited Pettah and Pamunuwa, two destinations frequented by customers during the Avurudu season to observ

From Space, One Radiant Planet: On Earth, a Bleeding World

The four astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission will follow a “free-return” trajectory around the Moon, giving humanity images of Earth as a single, silent, luminous jewel. From space, our planet appears whole, and without borders, an elegant sphere of life floating in vast darkness. But the view from above belies a far more troubling reality on the surface.

Sri Lanka can look to locally adaptable projects to face crises

Sri Lanka was once again reminded of the devastating power of extreme climate events. Torrential rains and floods last year disrupted lives, destroyed livelihoods, and tested the limits of emergency response systems. These shocks are not anomalies; they are part of a global pattern of intensifying climate disruption. For a nation already grappling with economic challenges, the question is not whether we will face such crises again, but how we wil

Technology vs. Geography: The new doctrine of national survival

The military conflict that erupted on February 28, between the United States-Israel alliance and Iran has fundamentally challenged the traditional dogmas of modern warfare. On one side stands a superpower with a defence budget nearing one trillion US Dollars, equipped with the pinnacle of technological military hardware - stealthy fighter jets, carrier strike groups, and sophisticated AWACS. On the other is a nation with a fraction of that budget

Easter Sunday carnage and the psychology of closure

Since 2019, there’s just one topic that almost every Sri Lankan is interested in particularly in April, other than the Sinhala and Hindu New Year. Seven years have elapsed since the Easter Sunday carnage but the mastermind has not yet been revealed. This means justice has not yet been done to victims and survivors of the deadly attacks. This also means that it would take many more years or even an entire lifetime to bring closure to these victims

Dubai’s strategic realignment and perils of modern geopolitics

For decades, Dubai has stood as the ‘Singapore of the Middle East’ - a glittering, safe harbour - carved out of the desert, through the visionary leadership of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

RUSSIA PREFERS LONG TERM ENERGY COOPERATION, NOT SPOT TRADE ON OIL, GAS - DEPUTY RUSSIAN FM

International dynamics keep changing in the present climax. The countries’ roles fast evolve. Sri Lanka is making fresh approaches in its engagements, particularly for energy security. Against the backdrop, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko is visiting Sri Lanka for a five-day diplomatic trip.

Exemplary combination of ability, discipline and integrity

Asoka Sriwickrama Abeywardene qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1968, at a time when the profession was highly selective and recognised for its rigorous standards. Admission to the profession during that era was reserved for individuals who combined intellectual ability, professional discipline, personal integrity, and refined communication skills. Asoka exemplified these qualities in abundance, possessing a strong intellect, sound strategic

Iran’s fighting several wars as Lebanon and Gaza suffer

Iran gained much worldwide sympathy since the US and Israel began their ferocious and indiscriminate bombing raids on Iran, even killing schoolchildren. But Iran’s brutal war against its own people continues unabated. While the Iranian Government has gained respect, if not sympathy, for the way it has stood up to massive bullying by the US and Israel, its own dark side is now conveniently sidelined.

Good Shepherd sisters mark 82 years in Montessori Method

As the world marked 120 years of opening of the first preschool for children, “Casa Dei Bambini” or ‘House of Children’ by legendary Dr. Maria Montessori in Rome, Italy marked on January 6, Sri Lanka celebrated the 82nd anniversary of initiating the same education method with our children and teachers.